Your guide on how to fragrance your home, part one..

You can’t walk through an artisans’ market, gift shop or even supermarket these days without being wafted with the fragrance of scented candles or diffusers. From the highest-end of brands with candles costing hundreds to the supermarket own-brands, how do you decide what you need to scent your home?

There are so many options, too – candles, diffusers, wax melts… Where do you start? Here’s a quick overview of the options and how best to use each one.

What’s best – candles, reed diffusers or electric diffusers?

Each option has its benefits, and can contribute to the scenting of your home in different ways.

Candles

Scented candles come in an almost infinite number of sizes and scents. With a candle you have control over the amount of fragrance you want in a space as you light it when you want scent and blow out the wick when you judge the room sufficiently fragranced. 

There are of course risks with candles – naked flames and small children are never a good idea, so it’s always wise to place them slightly higher than little hands can reach, and even if there are no children in the house, place them at a height where a passing skirt can’t catch the flame, or the tail of a pet. Make sure you don’t place them too close to a wall, where the heat might scorch the paint or paper, or anywhere near a curtain. There is additional risk too in that as they burn right down, the base of the candle can get very hot, and may scorch whatever you have placed them on. Pop them on a pretty plate, and keep a close eye on them. Never leave a candle burning unattended – in the year 2021-2022 there were 940 house fires in England known to be caused by a candle.

We still love a candle of course, despite the extra care needed. There’s something rather lovely about the soft flicker of light and the sense of warmth they give. Just stick to having them in the room you’re actually in, not burning merrily all by itself in the hallway when you’re in the lounge.

One final note on scented candles – ingredients are important. It’s better for your lungs and for the environment if you choose candles made from natural wax – soy, coconut, beeswax, rape seed, for example – than those made from paraffin wax. Paraffin wax is made from petroleum (crude oil), a non-renewable resource and the opposite of environmentally friendly when melted and released into the atmosphere. When it melts, what you breathe in is essentially a form of exhaust fumes. If you’re considering a candle and it doesn’t say it’s made from any of the natural waxes above, it might be better to step away. Natural wax candles may be a little more pricey, but if Aldi can make a soy candle for £3.49, you won’t have to step far to find one.

Wax melts

Wax melts are a small block of scented wax you melt in a special burner – usually a shallow dish above a tea light. It’s their petite size that makes them popular. Because they’re small, makers can create small amounts for sale without the additional cost of the glass or metal jar for a full size candle, which makes them economical. Their size also means you can set one to melt and it does its job quickly and inexpensively. To get the full benefit of a candle, you need to burn it for at least an hour. With a wax melt, it’s almost instantaneous – perfect for a bathtime ritual, or to scent the bedroom before sleep. You will need to keep an eye on the tea light of course, but because it’s set into a custom-made burner, there is less risk than with a full-size candle, plus you’re more likely to be in the space as it burns, not elsewhere.

Again, buy only natural waxes, such as beeswax or soy. You burn a wax melt for some immediate relaxation, and inhaling petroleum fumes shouldn’t feature in that.

Reed diffusers

Diffusers do just what they say on the box – they gently diffuse a scent into the space in which they are set. The reeds in a reed diffuser sit in aromatic oil, which travels up the reeds through a process known as capillary action (just the same way water travels up flower stems) and then slowly evaporates into the air. Once you have set a reed diffuser up, you can’t control the flow of scent, as it’s a natural action. 

Reed diffusers work best in smaller spaces, such as a downstairs loo or bathrooms, and best when the air is warm, which encourages the flow of the oil and the diffusion of the scent molecules into the air. 

We find that placing them in hallways works to create a soft fragrance, which is ideal if we’re showing potential buyers around a home. If you are selling your home, choose a single scent for your downstairs rooms and run that through, to create a wraparound sense of home. Don’t burn strong scented candles, or people may wonder what you’re trying to hide…

Electric diffusers

Relatively new to the market, electric diffusers work by breaking fragrance oils or essential oils down into a mist and then either via a fan or through a pressure nozzle dispersing the fragrance molecules into the air. They have the benefit that you can trigger fragrance on demand, and stop them instantly. Many have timers or options for intermittent settings, and some, such as the new Atomiser Connect, from Aromatherapy Associates, even connect via Bluetooth to an app, so you can control it from your sofa.

Choose one or a combination of each of the home fragrance options available and use them to scent scape your home, making it a haven of relaxation. In part two, we’ll look at scent scaping and choosing the right fragrances for you.

Eddie – (Image used from Redbridge Grove, Chorlton Green).